discover, is worry about the debt and the fiscal cliff. our program today, just briefly, others will talk, and we will give the polling results, and then a senior national journal member will have a panel discussion. it is a terrific day, i think. please turn these off. and, again, i welcome you. joan is the executive vice president of the country's largest insurance. you are in good hands with all state. joan has been a terrific partner. she is responsible of corporate relations for allstate. she did civil -- similar work with monsanto and others. she is a consummate marketing and communications strategist, which is what washington is all about, so thank you very much and welcome. [applause] >> ok. thank you. john, for that introduction. the national journal has been a terrific partner in supporting our work and the challenges that the american middle-class has been facing during this great recession, and i thank them for that. many thanks also to end, who will take us through the polling data to date -- many thanks take us through the polling data today, as well as one of his associates